Superbloom tourists in California visiting wildflower phenomenon visible from space

Tourists zip through the California superbloom near Lake Elsinore. Photo / Supplied, Skull Canyon Ziplines

Southern California has gone wildflower crazy. For the first time in four years the desert state parks have been carpeted by poppies and wild blooms.

While the event is rare and hard to predict, one thing is for certain: where the flowers sprout, tourists will soon also appear. After overcrowding ruined previous events, this year, visitors are being encouraged to stick to paths, avoid tramping the desert poppies - or zip straight over the fields of flowers.

The phenomenon known as the “superbloom” occurs rarely, and only when specific conditions allow.

According to the National Park Service a good wildflower year requires regular rain in late winter and spring, thanks to the El Niño weather pattern. Seeds and shoots can lie dormant for years before the conditions are just right.

“Death Valley is famous for its spectacular, spring wildflower displays, but those are the exception, not the rule,” says the Park Service website.

While crops of wildflowers pop up regularly in spring, the correct conditions for a true “superbloom” averages once in a decade.

Visitors pose amid fields of blooming flowers at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Having originally not expected much of a show this year, harsh rain storms have resulted in colourful poppies, mustard flowers and goldfields appearing around Santa Margarita and the southern desert.

This year the desert flowers are so intense they can be seen from space. Satellite images of Carrizo Plain National Monument, just west of Bakersfield, California, taken by Nasa on April 6 , show valleys surrounded by craggy mountains with a coating of deep purple. Images of the same area from the previous year when California was in severe drought showed it was mostly brown.

In previous years spring flowers have been the site of impromptu visits from photographers, sometimes with negative side effects.

Park officials ask visitors to not pick the flowers, saying that it is an offence to take flowers from national parks.

Tourist selfie hunters have been urged to stick to the paths to not ruin the show for others, but also out of respect for their safety.

Visitors walk on a pathway amid fields of blooming flowers at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

The California Department of Parks and Recreation has asked visitors to “check the weather, respect the landscapes and know their body limitations”.

“We want to make sure that everyone has a positive experience when exploring them,” State Parks director Armando Quintero said in a statement said of the bloom.

“California State Parks welcomes all to enjoy these unpredictable, rare occurrences but asks visitors to ‘Don’t Doom the Bloom’ by staying on designated trails and taking only photos, not flowers.”

Previous blooms have attracted Disney-sized crowds to rural villages, overwhelming the region.

The wildflower superbloom near Lake Elsinore, California. Photo / John Fowler, Unsplash

In 2019 the Lake Elisnore superbloom caused city officials to close all access to the wilderness area. FLower hunters were accused of blocking streets with poorly parked cars, and blocking access to the hard shoulder of IS15.

One of the more ingenious ways to sample the superbloom without trampling the flowers can be found at Skull Canyon Ziplines, outside of Elsinore.

Although it costs riders between $145 and $260, the canyon ziplines were able to continue operating during the 2019 flower craze.

“We do see wildflowers pop up every year, but the last Superbloom was in 2019,” the operators told the Herald. There has already been an influx in inquiries for tourists, as the flower season is short-lived and hard to predict.

The California superbloom near Lake Elsinore. Photo / Supplied, Skull Canyon Ziplines

“Our customers love that they can get up close to the wildflowers without trampling them, but it’s all up to Mother Nature how long they will last!”

The zipline says they see a lot fewer selfie hunters as it’s hard to take photos and zipline at the same time. You definitely don’t want to drop your go-pro into the canyons.

In a recent interview with the LA Times, owner Yvette Liston said they have “rattlesnakes in the fields”, so they don’t go looking for phones in the bloom.

Another good reason not to wade out into the flowers.

- With additional reporting from AP